Project Spotlights

Appetite versus Attraction

From just a short distance away, it looks like Sally and
John are really hitting it off. Sally, a cheery blonde, wears
a simple white dress and a dazzling smile. Soon it is time
to order. Sally: a neat Mediterranean salad, light dressing,
hold the cheese. John: steak, medium-rare, roasted potatoes
and green beans. And for dessert? Well, they found out they
have a mutual fondness for chocolate cheesecake. Destiny?
Perhaps. How about they share a slice?

According to psychologists in the field of social cognition,
there are many indications that Sally and John aren't close
cousins or coworkers engaging in an important business
meeting. When you look at their nonverbal communication,
all the signs are there-but what was the biggest hint?
Dr. Thomas Alley and his Creative Inquiry team in the
psychology department at Clemson believe that the answer
lies in the food. Well, the sharing of food.

"People are way more likely to think people are attracted
to each other if there is feeding," Alley said. "Anytime
somebody gives some of their resources to another person
you're likely to assume there is some form of intimacy."

Alley believes that the idea for the project evolved about
five years ago when he and a group of anthropologists
were dining in Prague, discussing the different ways in
which people perceive various eating habits-one of them
food sharing. With help from a team of students, Alley
then began a video research experiment. The 30 second
videos showed two actors, one male and one female, eating
together. In some videos there was food sharing in different
ways such as the woman feeding the man and vice-versa.
Food contamination was also taken into account such as
whether or not a person had taken a nibble of something
before offering it to someone else.

Students were then asked to rate how well the couple knew
each other, whether the pair would grow closer or more
distant over time, and overall, how much attraction there Students were then asked to rate how well the couple knew each other, whether the pair would grow closer or more
distant over time, and overall, how much attraction there

Based on this previous research, Alley and his team have
done similar replications of the video projects as well as
real-life observations. Students sat in dining locations
in downtown Clemson and several other towns and
anonymously observed couples who looked to be above
the age of 18. "After they were done eating they would be
approached and asked to fill out a survey," Alley said. The
survey consisted of questions asking about the nature of
their relationship, and the results were strikingly similar to
that of the video experiments.

But why? Alley believes that this behavior may be linked to
our prehistoric ancestors. "Food sharing has had a major
impact on survival" Alley said. "While humans were the
hunter/gatherers, there was a constant need to provide for
one another." But interestingly enough, the gender of the
food-sharer was something that did affect results. When
the video experiment included a man feeding a woman, he
was rated as being more attracted to her compared with the
video of the woman feeding the man. Alley suggests that this
might be due to the stereotype that men are the providers.
This behavior is something that has been observed in other
species. "It is part of mate selection."

And what about food contamination? Alley's hypothesis is
that it is similar to mouth-to-mouth kissing. "It's kind of
a test!" he laughed. "It's to see whether or not there will
be rejection or acceptance. It's a good way to move the
relationship forward."

In addition to studying contaminated food-sharing, Alley
and his team hope to also address other questions about this
behavior. "It would be interesting to know whether or not
the results are the same for people from different cultures
and backgrounds," Alley said. "Nobody's really looked at this
stuff before, but it's important to think about how certain
things impact what people think about each other." From a
short distance away, you can tell a lot about Sally and John.
And with one bite, and an appetite for knowledge, we are
learning more and more that communication is key.